Every
rod-related
business needs a shop truck,
right? So to help
generate interest in
House O' Speed, my website featuring hot rod
patches and decals, low-brow
artwork, rod style jewelry, repro vintage and retro hot rod t-shirts, Rat Fink memorabilia,
rat rod kitsch and books
covering the likes of Larry Watson,
Kenneth "Von Dutch" Howard, The Barris
Bros. and Gene Winfield,
as well as hot rod design
consulting, I set out to build the ultimate
shop truck. The
result is "Ratiki", my 1965
Chevrolet Suburban, and rolling
business card. This truck is the
culmination of my love of Southern
California style hot rods, tiki/surf
culture and sixties-era American
metal. The build-up itself,
detailed in the chapters above,
took over three years and
required the talents of many
Austin-based accomplices
noted in the chapter entitled,
"build crew" You'll
find an extensive parts list
there, as well. I'd also like to
thank my family and in
particular my wife, Debbie, for
allowing this project to take up
so very much of our
lives. I hope you enjoy reading
about the trials and
tribulations of constructing "Ratiki"
as much as we enjoy hauling ass around Austin
in her. Here's to
dirty horsepower!